“What do you love most?” / It sounds like a nice question, right? Then again, it depends on your affections. Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind? Love your neighbor well? All is fine.

Love to win the adoration of others? Love to accumulate power, romantic favors, and excessive riches? All is not fine.

Jesus couldn’t have been clearer: “You cannot serve God and wealth.” In the Bible, in Luke chapter 16, we read, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to [Jesus] and were scoffing at Him.” Jesus continues: “You try to justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

When it comes to our neighbors, some already have decided to oppose Jesus. Some, like Saul on the way to Damascus, are emotionally engaged. Others have hearts of stone. When they scoff, we can ask a single question to expose their folly.

The question again is this: / “What do you love most?” / You may not need to say anything else. Just let that question reverberate awhile. And let God do the rest.

This is Luis Palau.